Prenatal care, screening, and complications.

Articles are reviewed that give the clinician new guidelines to diagnose neural tube defects without using amniocentesis. Cervical measurement using ultrasound as a tool to objectively evaluate and follow patients at risk for premature labor and incompetent cervix are reviewed. The utility of transabdominal versus transvaginal ultrasound is discussed. Two papers are presented that look at the use of aspirin in preeclampsia. One study looks at metabolic degradation of the prostaglandins associated with pregnancy-induced hypertension and shows that there is a heterogeneity in response to aspirin therapy. However, once the patient has pregnancy-induced hypertension, aspirin does not seem to be effective. A paper is presented that looks at the safety of autologous blood donation for both the mother and the baby and confirms its usefulness in obstetrics as in the nonpregnant patient.